Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Sexual harassment in UK

Sexual harassment part of
daily life for British girls, says Girlguiding UK

Up to 60% of girls and young women aged 13 to 21 report sexual harassment at school or college, according to the Girls’ Attitudes survey. More must be done to tackle this widespread problem

According to the Girlguiding UK survey, three in four girls
aged 11 to 21 know girls their age who self-harm or suffer from depression. Photograph:
Datacraft Co Ltd/Getty Images

Girls as young as seven are experiencing sexual taunts from
boys, says new research from Girlguiding UK. The charity’s report reveals
that sexism and harassment are becoming a part of daily life for British girls,
with almost 60% of girls and young women aged 13 to 21 reporting sexual harassment
at school or college and 20% experiencing unwanted touching (a form of sexual
assault). The Girls’ Attitudes survey, which polled more than 1,400 girls and
young women across the UK, warns that such experiences are coming to be seen as
just “a normal aspect of being a girl”.

I spoke with Girlguiding member Ashvini Rae, 16. “I’ve seen
it happen a lot,” she said. “It’s got to the stage where girls sometimes don’t
feel comfortable going to school. Secondary and even primary school students
experience it, and they might feel it’s something they have to get used to
because it’s happening on a daily basis for most people. A boy in my class told
a rape joke recently. Even though he’s a nice, sweet guy, it’s just so normal
that so many people say it.”

Perhaps even more worrying was the revelation from the
report of the participation of authority figures in this normalisation. More
than half of girls aged between 11 and 16 say that teachers and staff sometimes
– or always – tell girls to ignore incidents of sexual harassment or dismiss it
as a bit of “banter”. Eighteen-year old Isla Whateley, a Girlguiding member
from Glasgow, warned that this response “teaches girls what’s happening is
normal and they shouldn’t be reporting it or angry about it”.

The survey also looked into the state of girls’ mental
health and wellbeing, and the results were worrying. Three in four girls aged
between 11 and 21 know girls their age who self-harm or suffer from depression,
and two in three know someone with an eating disorder (66%). The report makes
it clear that girls feel frustrated by media reinforcement of negative
attitudes and misconceptions about violence against women: 58% feel that when a
woman is attacked or raped, the media often blames her behaviour or appearance.
Whateley says: “This is internalised by young girls who start to think that
they are responsible, that it is their fault if something happens. It
definitely makes them feel more worried or self-conscious about reporting.”

In light of the survey’s finding that 35% of girls aged 11
to 21 know girls and young women their age who have experienced controlling or
bullying behaviour from a partner, this situation – and the response it
provokes in girls – is disastrous. A quarter of those surveyed know someone who
has experienced violence from a partner.

According to Emma Cooper, a member of Girlguiding’s youth
panel, Advocate, girls are genuinely and rightly angry that not enough is being
done in schools to combat these widespread problems. Cooper, 23, told me: “I think
most adults wouldn’t realise young girls experience sexual harassment at
school. It’s so widespread, but people don’t know about it.

“The government has a responsibility to make sure schools
take a stricter line, and that’s why we’re asking them to introduce guidelines
for dealing with sexual bullying and harassment in schools as part of ourGirl’s Matter campaign.
If teachers had a framework to work within, it would improve the problem.”

All the girls I spoke to suggested that leadership needs to
come from the top, and where better than in school? They think better personal,
social and health education (PSHE), particularly around sex and relationships
and mental health, would help to tackle the problem. As Amy Callaghan, a
16-year-old Girlguiding Advocate, says: “Every day, many girls’ lives are made
a misery by sexist comments, sexual harassment and abuse at school. What’s
worse is that it’s not being treated as a serious issue.”!!!!!

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